Wisteria

Leah Westfall and Max Paddock, July 2014 Jefferson St. Cemetery, Ellicottville, NY Above is a photograph taken in July 2014 at the 2nd annual Jefferson Street Cemetery Walking Tour in Ellicottville, NY. Leah Westfall was portraying Mary Grierson buried there. The two are standing near the stone that marks the burial for Mary and her two sisters. You can see this tombstone here . Max portrayed Chauncey Vibbard who was buried there in 1882 at the age of 17. Chauncey was the son of Chester E. Vibbard and his wife Sarah Raynor. Chester and Sarah are also buried in the cemetery as well as another son William Raynor Vibbard who died in 1873 when he was about 11 years old. You can see the Vibbard tombstone here . Both Westfall and Paddock were on hand to read a narrative of the life of their respective cemetery residents, making them come alive to the participants of the tour. Chauncey's narrative told about how he and his older brother were baptized in St. John's Church in E

I recently unearthed some old photographs showing my father-in-law as a child with his family around the table at a Thanksgiving dinner in 1950 . I believe it was taken that year judging from his apparent age and that of his siblings. I posted a digital copy of one of the photos to Facebook to share with him, his other brothers and other members of the family. It generated a lot of reminiscing and discussion. I checked in with the brothers and wrote down any recollections they had of the time. We recently buried the youngest member of the family, Tom Westfall, just last month. He is pictured in those Thanksgiving photos at about the age of 3. Marie G. Westfall about 1927 daughter of Lawrence L. and Mabel L. (Smith) Westfall There were ten children altogether, but two died in infancy. (Plus from his first marriage, their father Lawrence had an infant daughter who died). The photo on the left, taken around 1947, is a snapshot of the surviving eight. Tom, in Marie's arms, i

Did you know there is a connection between Ellicottville and Brooklyn NY? Read on to find out more. First, let me talk about Schoolcraft, Michigan. I have mentioned before that I subscribe to Michigana, a quarterly magazine of the Western Michigan Genealogical Society. A couple of months ago, I noted a  third installment of an article entitled "Everything Has a Story" by  Paula K. Vander Hoven. The article mentioned a Beecher/Skinner  family that migrated to Schoolcraft, Michigan from Ellicottville, New York. Juliette Beecher Skinner and her daughter Sophia Skinner were some of the early members of the first Episcopal church there in Schoolcraft which was notable for having its membership comprised of mainly women.  Juliette Beecher, the wife of Peter V. Skinner, was born in 1820. Her father Moses Beecher was part  of the 1829 organizational meeting of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicottville  and part of the church's building committee. The church structure (